This responds to your January 19, 2007, memorandum requesting an extension of authority to examine for positions subject to the Luevano consent decree using the ACWA examination process. Your request for ACWA examining authority is approved for Department of Army's five continental United States Competitive Examining Units and will become effective on the date the attached Examining Instrument Agreement is signed.

The Civilian Personnel Management Service, Field Advisory Services, will exercise oversight for all ACWA examining conducted. Please contact Ms. Elizabeth Jackson at (703) 696-1234, if you have any questions regarding delegated examining.

The Department of the Army has been delegated authority to use the examining instruments developed by the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) for ACWA positions covered by the Luevano consent decree.
In compliance with OPM guidance, this Component agrees to the following mandatory requirements.

Modification Prohibition

No modification of the content of the instruments or values used in the scoring process is permitted. The instruments must be used intact in the manner approved under the Luevano consent decree.

The Component is responsible for all reproduction and distribution of examining materials within its organization. Reproduction must be in accordance with government-wide requirements relating to such material.

Required Report Submission

The Component agrees to submit all required reports in writing to its OPM Service Center and to the CPMS in a timely manner using the addresses shown in item 2 above.

Examining Documentation Retention

The Component must retain all documentation related to Luevano consent decree examining indefinitely or until released by the court.

Agreement Oversight

CPMS will exercise oversight in accordance with the OPM delegation for all examining activity conducted under this agreement. The Component agrees to cooperatively participate in the oversight effort. Oversight will normally be conducted as part of any Staff Assistance Visit to a Delegated Examining Unit using this examining authority.

Delegated Examining Agreement Coverage

All OPM and DoD delegated examining agreement provisions apply to examining actions under this agreement.

Agreement Termination

DoD may wish to terminate this agreement at any time for violations of the requirements listed above or in the DoD-OPM interagency Delegated Examining Agreement, October 2000. If the Component wishes to terminate the agreement, it will be terminated upon notification to Civilian Personnel Management Service, Field Advisory Services Division, and the Component taking appropriate closeout actions.

Agreement Acceptance/Duration

This agreement is effective upon DoD approval and signature of the appropriate Component representative. This delegation of authority to examine for ACWA positions covered by the Luevano consent decree is effective for one year.

// signed //
Sharon Stewart
Civilian Personnel Management Services

// signed //
Melinda McMillon Darby
Assistant G-1 for Civilian Personnel
Department of the Army